Review by Jason Barnard
It’s easy to forget how big Slade were in the first half of the 70s. In Britain alone Noddy Holder, Jim Lea, Don Powell and Dave Hill gave us six number ones, four years worth of singles counted in top 40 and three album top spots. But so what? What truly matters is the superb body of work written and played by the Black country rockers.
The new boxset ‘When Slade Rocked The World 1971-1975’ has all their releases in their hit making prime. This time capsule presents a compelling case for them to be ranked alongside Brit rock cornerstones The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who.
This lavish collection includes:
- 4 x vinyl LPs (‘Slade Alive!’, ‘Slayed?’, ‘Old New Borrowed and Blue’ and ‘Slade In Flame’) reproduced in their original sleeves, remastered and pressed on 180gm coloured vinyl
- 4 x double sided picture sleeve singles covering the key hits released outside of those albums
- 2 CD collection of the audio on the four vinyl LPs
- Reproduction of an original vinyl flexidisc, Slade Talk To ‘19’ Readers
- 10” annual style hardback book featuring reviews, features and memorabilia
- Reproduction of George Tremlett’s 1975 book The Slade Story
The hits need no introduction such as rockers ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’, ‘Coz I Luv You’ and ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxFHTxI_dzs
Let’s not forget the stunning ballads ‘Everyday’, ‘Far Far Away’ and ‘How Does It Feel’. Other favourites are scattered across their back catalogue like Slade in Flame’s ‘Summer Song (Wishing You Were Hear)’ Old New Borrowed and Blue’s’ ‘When The Lights Are Out’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX5IiwX6UEw
The Slade Story book is a great period piece. Whilst clearly written to put the best shine on the group, its focus on their early years provides a detailed insight into the Slade story. The annual style book really captures the look of teen fan annuals of the period. It shows their journey chronologically through scans of long lost promo shots, ticket stubs plus magazine and newspaper clippings.
The Slade Story quotes Noddy “When those kids are grown up, I’d like to feel that they will talk about us to their kids just like we’ll tell our own one day that we saw The Beatles or the Stones when we were young..” You know what Noddy, they did!
Pre-orders can be found at:
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/when-slade-rocked-the-world
